Flags of our Fathers Movie

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U/D/T/SNAKE

Only partially annoying now
For those of you who dont know, "Flags of our Fathers" is perhaps the greatest combat book I have ever read. It was written by James Bradley, the sone of the Navy corpsmen whos profile is immortilized in the famous photo and statue of the 2nd flag raising on the 3rd day of battle on Iwo Jima. It truly is an intense and moving novel. From the excellent biographies of the six flag raisers and the hard depression era in which they grew up, to the hard nosed training and combat through the pacific and ultimately Iwo where 3 of the six lost their lives during the hellish battle. The book starts out as Bradley is routing through his fathers stuff upon his death and discovers a Navy Cross and citation. He never knew, he knew his father was one of the men in the famous photo and grew up being told that "your father is a hero" but as he recounts, his father would get as close to him as he ever would and say" the real heros are the men who are still on Iwo" and leave it at that. His father never spoke of the war. So, upon his death he sought out survivors for their stories and pieced together a most amazing book.

As the movie is a Steven Speilberg (directed by clint eastwood) project, I wonder if when the Marines hit the beach how the audience will remember "saving private Ryan" only this time the Japanese defenders allow several initial waves to land. Then of course after about an hour and marines are gathering on the beach, the 36 day ordeal begins in a ****storm. The book recounts that arial recon planes said the japanese were so well entrenched that from the air, it "it looks like the Marines are fighting the island itself" and of course the famouse words of then combat correspondant Jim Leher (now a famous new broadcaster) he says based on his pacific theater coverage "in combat, the army is chicken****, the navy is no better, and the airforce is barely on our side" this is after several cagmpains with the Marines as they slugged it out against the fanatical fighters that the Japanese were.

If you have a chance give, the book a read, I promise you'll be glad you did. Its also of course for me, a sort of "finally" a movie about ww2 and the tremendous and now legendary battles that the Marines fought in the pacific.

Heres the link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0418689/combined

Yeah I know...ooohrah Marine Corps. I get a little over zealous.

Heres a good link that lets you read the first chapter of the book: http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780553111330&view=excerpt

The flag raisers :http://www.iwojima.com/raising/raisingc.htm
 
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U/D/T/SNAKE

Only partially annoying now
I can see people reading the thread. Just wonder if everyone has read the first chapter I posted? I especially like the end part where Bradley is on Iwo Jima in 98 and sees the Sgt Maj of the Corps and says, "I hazarded one glance upward--at Sergeant Major Lewis Lee, the highest-ranking enlisted man in the Corps. Tanned, his sleeves rolled up over brawny forearms, muscular Sergeant Major Lee looked like a man who could eat a gun, never mind shoot one. Tears glistened on his chiseled face.

Holy land. Sacred ground.

And then it was over."
 

The_Pikeman

Also known as Howski
Nov 20, 2001
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Clint is a mighty fine director, so we'll see how this pans out. Dunno though I mean I'd hate it to turn out to be another gun-ho american films. To be honest I'd like to see something with the honesty of "Fog of war". Mind you speaking of WW2 films have you seen the downfall, what a simply brilliant film.
-How.
 

U/D/T/SNAKE

Only partially annoying now
Never saw it or even heard of it. where can i get it? I think this movie is right up eastwoods ally. He's a story guy and this is a good one. The book naturally is about the flag raisers so its from an american perspective, but its not lost on the author to give much praise and dignity to the fierce fighters that the japanese were and the price they paid as well.

Im obviously an eatwood fan (pic in my avatar) always have been since I was a kid. I always find it funny how most people just miss or dont get his films. Like everyone makes a fuss over the line "make my day" when to me, the real line is right before when he says "Ive been coming here for ten years and ole alice here gives a black coffee, only this time its got sugar in it....allot of sugar...I just came back to complain" or nobody gets in unforgiven that william munny doesnt start killin again until he finds out ned is dead and he starts drinkin again..the very thing that made him a killer in the past. His movies always have little **** like that shich i find enjoyable.

I find this passage telling as well. nearly 60 years later. Imagine the **** storm of artillery to create this 60 yeears later:
(james bradley on the island of iwo jima in 1998)

We drove across the island to the old combat site where my father had been wounded two weeks after the flagraising. I noticed that the ground was hard, and rust-colored. I stooped down and picked up one of the shards of rock that littered the surface. Examining it up close, I realized that it was not a rock at all. It was a piece of shrapnel. This is what we had mistaken for natural terrain: fragments of exploded artillery shells. Half a century old, they still formed a kind of carpet here. My father carried some of that shrapnel in his leg and foot to his grave.
 
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Rostam

PSN: Rostam_
May 1, 2001
2,807
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Leiden, Holland
Hmm, since Spielberg isn't directing it it just might become good. Clint Eastwood is a much better choice. But I really don't hope Spielberg does anything else than just pay him to make the movie, everything he touches becomes... ****.

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Please don't make the "oh oh 4 stars I must see this" joke :p